Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Monday, December 22, 2014

Real
Madrid was going for a double – they reached the final for Copa del
Rey. The other finalist was Valencia, which, given their shaky
season, did not look like formidable opponent. But predictions and
reality are not the same: mighty Real was outplayed and lost 0-2.

A
team like that seems unbeatable, but it was not the team facing
Valencia. Real fielded Garcia Remon, San Jose, Isidro, Wolff, Benito,
Del Bosque, Roberto Martinez, Stielike, Santillana, Garcia Hernandez,
and Aguilar. Vitoria substituted Santillana in the 12th
minute and in the 88th
Mate replaced Garcia Remon. Inferior team, compared to the usual
starters... few aging players, unfortunate loss of Santillana, and at
the end the third goalie came in, only to receive a goal almost at
once.

Valencia
made the best of their chance. Mario Kempes scored in the 24th
minute and the fragile lead was preserved to the end. To the very end
– Kempes scored the second goal in the very last minute. The deep
reserve Mate shamefully received a goal in only two minutes on the
pitch, but why blaming him ? The match was lost by the time
Kempes scored his second – the referee was going to whistle the end
any second. And he did after the goal, Valencia victorious. It was
their first cup since 1967 !

Proud
winners of Copa del Rey. Valencia had to play with their second kit,
because the first kits of the finalists collided – all white.
Valencia also had to play the final at hostile Madird. And against
the big stars of Spanish football. Yet, they won ! Kempes was
the hero once again. So was the coach Bernardino Perez. The season
turned to be successful.

It
should have been, judging by the summer of 1978. Valencia had Mario
Kempes – just crowned as world football champion. He was also the
top scorer of the world cup finals and voted the best player of the
tournament. And he was only 24 ! Valencia made the second big
transfer too – Barcelona got Krankl, Valencia – Rainer Bonhof. It
was arguably the best addition to Kempes – Bonhof was the best
offering of the West German total football : strong, fit,
excellent in defense, creative in midfield, dangerous in attack.
Never tired, relentlessly covering the whole pitch, great passer. He
and Kempes were both physically strong modern players – the duo had
to be lethal. And they were not alone – Valencia had bright players
like Solsona (26) and Botubot (23). Jose Manzanedo (22) was the best
goalkeeper of the season. 18-years old teenager not only debuted, but
immediately established himself among the regulars – Tendillo, a
name frequently mentioned in the 1980s. The ever-present Paraguayans,
tough and reliable, were also at hand – Carlos Diarte (24) and
Eufemio Cabral (23). And one more Argentine striker – Dario Felman
(29). It was promising team, lead by players made for each other. And
the coach was experienced veteran – the former French star of
Spanish descent Marcel Domingo. He played numerous years in Spain,
but his coaching career was only in Spain – he knew Spanish
football in and out and was at best coaching age – 54. Vastly
experienced fox at his prime. Valencia was going for the title. Or so
it looked like at first. The season turned out to be mediocre one and
Domingo was fired. By the time of the cup final Bernardino Perez was
at the helm – too late to improve in the league, but the cup was a
good chance. The chance was not missed – the team had big
potential, Kempes scored when it mattered most, and failure turned
into a triumph. Kempes and Bonhof proved they were among the best of
the world with a trophy. 5th
cup for Valencia.

Monday, December 15, 2014

Saturday, December 13, 2014

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Serie
B or Second Division. It was the bastion of defensive football, which
dragged Italy down in the 1970s. Changes come slow in the second
tier, old ways persist – it was and is everywhere, not just in
Italy. The 20-team league produced mostly ties – not a single club
had less than 10. Only two clubs finished with more wins than ties.
Goal scoring was not the aim – only 6 clubs scored more than a goal
per game average. Not a single team achieved 2 goals per match,
though : the highest average belonged to Udinese – 52 goals in
38 games : 1.37 average... Two of the best scoring teams reached
only 39 goals. Defense was king and the strategy : tie the
match, get a point, and don't risk.

Bari
were the best at that – they managed to tie 23 of their
championship matches. This was good enough for 16th
place... that is, barely escaping relegation zone.

Right
after them were Taranto – 21 ties. Behind Bari only in terms of
ties – in the final table they were a place ahead of Bari :
15th,
but thanks only on better goal-difference. The third highest number
belonged to Ternana – 20 ties.

Ternana
finished with only one point more than Taranto and Bari, but a point
meant a lot in such league – Ternana finished 10th.
Not bad, when all is over and the danger of relegation is gone :
5 teams finished with 35 points and 3 with 36 – 8 clubs barely
survived, yet... the top among them was 9th,
respectable mid-table position. If there was a club able to achieve
the perfect dream – to tie every match played, such a team would
had been 9th
this year and two points ahead of half the league. But dreams are
not reality and 9th
was Sampdoria.

There
is strong impression nowadays that Sampdoria is traditionally big
Italian club, but it is false : Sampdoria were almost nobodies
back in the 1970s and earlier, often found in the second division.
The name rings a bell, but one pf their close companions do not :

Sambenedettese,
an obscure club on the same level with Sampdoria ? Actually, yes
– they were one of the almost constant members of second division.
Never strong, so they were not among the leaders, but never too weak
either. Mid-table club, like Sampdoria. 11th
this year, but behind Sampdoria only on goal-difference.

That
was pretty much the bulk occupying the mid-table : mostly clubs,
which were no stranger to first division, but either fading away and
slowly sinking (Spal, Taranto), or shaky and not ready for another
try to stay among the best (Cesena, Genoa, Brescia, Palermo).

Palermo
is always worth a glance, because of their rare colours – not many
clubs play in pin. Not many clubs play on clay too... But this is now
– back in the 1970s it was not unusual, although here Palermo is
not lining for championship match – most likely for a friendly,
visiting some tiny club. On grass – or partially grassed pitch –
they tied 19 games and finished 7th
with 41 points. So much for the bulk of the league, the typical
clubs.

The
last four were relegated – three outsiders and a team which came
relatively close to salvation. Two were more or less expected
outsiders, the other two were down on their luck.

Varese
were last with 24 points. Not a big clubs and familiar with dreaded
last place, but familiar with last place in first division. Now they
were last in Serie B and going to get acquinted with third division
football. A club in decline.

Rimini
finished 19th
with 24 points, like Varese, but better goal-difference. One of the
expected outsiders, so nothing strange they were relegated. Rimini
distinguished themselves with 2 seasonal records : the won the
least matches – measly 3 out of 38 total – and scored the least
goals in the league – 17. They also had vaguely familiar player :
Massimo Piloni was reserve goalkeeper of Juventus for 8 years in
which he played 12 matches, but was 3 times champion nevertheless. He
moved to Pescara in 1975 and played regularly for three years, then
joined Rimini. The beard he grew after leaving Juventus did not help
much... after traveling Europe, he was to get familiar with Italian
countryside in third division.

Nocerina
ended 18th
and nothing surprising for a club which highest dream was reaching
second division. No Italian champions like Piloni here, but the
modest club tried hard to stay in the league – they finished with
29 points – 5 more than Rimini and Varese. Yet, they were 4 points
behind the club immediately above them and did not have a chance
surviving.

17th
and also relegated were Foggia with 33 points.

All
is relative – Foggia is almost always an outsider when in Serie A,
but in second division they were ranked high and considered
candidates for promotion, not relegation. But since relegation is
something so painfully familiar to the club, the pattern continued in
a way. Weak they were this season – came close to safety, but only
that : two points short, and down they went.

The
top of the table somewhat mirrored the bottom – 4 clubs fought for
3 promotional spots. They were divided, just like the bottom four –
two teams finished with eagual points, far from better two. The best
team was without competition. Monza and Pescara finished with 48
points each, Pescara taking the third place on better
goal-difference. Since promotion was concerned, play-off was staged.

A
strong, even surprising, season for Monza, which was not usually a
candidate for promotion. 4th
place in the final table, but still having a chance to reach Serie A.
A| matter of one match... but they were 4th
and 4th
they stayed : they lost the play-off 0-2. Unlucky ? Or
tradition trumping novelty ?

Pescara
finished 3rd
in the season, and won the promotional play-off. May be the key was
their better atack -they scored more than Monza during the year. They
scored in the vital play-off too – the weaker Monza strikers did
not. Lucky Pescara, but what an irony : Massimo Piloni left the
club before the season and at the end his former teammates were going
to play in first division, and he – in third.

Cagliari,
down on their luck, finished second. At the start of the decade
Cagliari were champions. They had famous squad, studded with stars.
Riva was playing for them. But the squad aged, some players moved
elsewhere, Riva retired, money was short, perhaps the moment of
starting rebuilding was missed, and Cagliari slowly declined until
sinking to second division. Which was not a place for them – with
some difficulties and struggles, Cagliari managed to finish 2nd
, besting Pescara and Monza by a point. At least exile did not last
long...

Returning
to Serie A, but it was clearly weak team – only Longobucco rings a
bell, and he was neither young, nor a star. Cagliari escaped from
Serie B, but the future did not look bright.

The
champions were the only really raising club – or so it seemed.
Dominant and confident, the most attacking team in the league, having
also the best defense. 21 wins – the next best record was 16 –
and only 4 losses. 52:22 goal-difference. 6 points ahead of the 2nd
placed Cagliari – the winners appeared to be well-rounded team,
without weaknesses. It was not exactly a club with familiar name –
Udinese did not play much in first division, so their rise was very
optimistic news. Something new – and may be different. May be not
one-time wonder. And looking like a double of Juventus – the kit is
the same – was also a positive sign, if only on superstitious
level.

Promising
team, great season, but like every other second division team,
Udinese did not have famous players. Not even recognizable names...
whatever familiar names played in Serie B, they belonged to other
clubs – like the top scorer of the season Damiani, a former
Juventus striker, who now scored goals for Genoa. The strength of
Udunese apparently was their well-rounded squad, players comfortable
with each other, performing well as a whole. Was it enough for Serie
A ?

Monday, December 1, 2014

Saturday, November 29, 2014

The
events in the Second Division perhaps were enjoyed at the bottom of
First Division – Valenciennes survived. They finished 18th
on better goal-difference. If only two clubs were relegated this
season, then they were saved by the rules ; if originally three
clubs were going down, then Gueugnon's inability to join the top
league saved Valenciennes. Lucky boys no matter the reason.

Not
a team worth another look, except for a small note : the former
Polish national player Wrazy is here plus a little known at the time
Cameroonian, who became famous many, many years later – Roger
Milla. Nothing suggesting legendary status in 1978-79, though... if
there was a bit of dancing, it was just because relegation was
avoided. Hardly the making of a legend. As for Jan Wrazy, born 1943
in Lvov (Ukraine today), his best days were over long time ago –
his last match for Poland was in 1972. The veteran was good enough
for the lowly French club, though – he played five years for
Valenciennes.

FC
Paris were the unlucky club – they finished behind Valenciennes on
worse goal-diference and took 19th
place in the final table. Relegation...

This
was perhaps the last effort of FC Paris to keep place among the top
French clubs – the administrative troubles lead to the split into
two clubs at the beginning of the 1970s. Paris Saint Germain were
fine, but FC Paris had no chance. They tried... but small club in a
city not exactly crazy about football did not have bright future.
Lech was not enough to keep FC Paris in the premier league, Zlataric
was an empty promise... tough luck at the end... and FC Paris sealed
its fate : to play minor rôle in French football, mostly in
third and second division.

The
absolute outsider this season was Stade Reims. It was not unusual a
club with name and reputation to go down in France, but the downfall
was quite interesting anyhow : the great days of Reims ended
long ago – practically from the early 1960s the club was declining.
By the beginning of the 1970s they were no favorites at all, but one
of the mid-table clubs. However slow, the decline continued steadily,
finally ending with relegation. Not only Reims finished last, but
hopelessly last – they won only 3 matches this season and earned a
total of 17 points. FC Paris and Valenciennes finished with 28...

The
squad is a testimony of the state of Reims – not a single player of
real quality.

The
German Franz Michelberger, although young
hardly
ever played top league football – apart from this singular season
in France, he achieved a grand total of 4 Bundesliga matches, all for
Bayern (Munich), between 1974 and 1976. The Argentine Jose Santiago
Santamaria was a bit better – he arrived in 1974, when he was only
22 years old, and scored quite a lot of goals for Reims – 52 in 170
matches for the club – but he was not a leading player on larger
scale. The relegation was enough for him and he returned to Argentina
after the end the season. Unlike Michelberger, 'El Cucurucho'
achieved some fame after leaving France – he played a bit for
Argentina, including at the 1982 World Cup. With a team like that
Reims was really good only for second division football – too bad a
club so great in the past fell into such terrible situtaion, but
sentimental laments cannot change reality.

Two
other clubs were in decline : OGC Nice and Olympique Marseille.
Nice was declining slowly since 1972 ; Marseille – more
recently. To a point, Nice was repeating the fate of Reims – a
strong club once upon a time unable to adjust to new realities,
largely financial realities. Marseille was more puzzling, for they
had large support and generally had no problems generating money.

Nice
finished 15th
– and it was not surprising, judging by the squad : aging
Jean-Marc Guillou and Nenad Bjekovic were already declining. Bousdira
was the only other classy player – hardly enough for strong season.
And the future did not look bright... Guillou left after the end of
the season to play in Switzerland ; Fares Bousdira was not going
to stay long too, but he was hardly the player around whon to build a
team – he played for France only once in 1976 : evidently,
not a star.

Olympique
Marseille perhaps lacked vision – the club tried to keep a strong
team in the first half of the 1970s, but somewhat mechanically.
Buying big names, but not really building a team – failures
followed : Jairzinho and Paulo Cesar Lima were the most
spectacular. Yet, the club stubbornly continued the same, buying one
or two high-profiled players in the hope they would be enough.
Meantime the French stars either retired or moved to other clubs. By
1978-79 Marseille was a strange team : Bracci and Zvunka were
already declining, but the club missed the right time to replace
them. The Swedish national team player Linderoth was good, but not a
leader. Didier Six was the best the club had, but he was a
continuation of a doomed policy – taken from elsewhere in the hope
he will bring class alone. Those before him failed, though
(Jairzinho, Paulo Cesar Lima, Yazalde, Beretta...). The bulk of the
squad was run of the mill – and as a whole Marseille was really a
mid-table team.

12th
place was the right place for such a team... and it was also clear
that without rapid and big changes this team was only to go further
down : there was no strong core to keep it afloat.

One
more club must be mentioned from the lower half of the league –
Paris Saint Germain. Different from OGC Nice and Olympique Marseille
case. Paris SG suffered the usual ills of young ambitious clubs –
no traditions. They had money and prime location, and wanted to
become one of the leading French clubs, but so far nothing worked :
Paris SG continually bought big names, but somehow was unable to
create competitive team. Names were impressive : French national
team players – Dominique Baratelli (b. 1947), Dominique Batheney
(b.1954), Jean-Muchel Larque (b. 1947), Jean-Pierre Adams (b. 1948),
league stars – Francois M'Pele (Congo Brazaville, b. 1947), Jacky
Laposte (b. 1952), Mustapha Dahleb (Algeria, b. 1952), Dominique
Lokoli (b. 1952), bright young talent – Luis Fernandez (b. 1959),
Jean-Marc Pilorget (b. 1958), big foreign names – the Argentines
Carlos Bianchi (b. 1949) and Ramon Heredia (b. 1951). And Velibor
Vasovic, the Yugoslavian former captain of great Ajax (Amsterdam) was
coaching them. Looked like a champion squad... which did not work.
Bianchi was scoring as ever, Baratelli and Bathenay were in the
national team, Fernandez was already a regular, Dahleb was going to
play at world cup finals... but some players were already fading away
(Adams, Heredia, M'Pele) and some never became the stars they were
expected to become (Laposte, Lokoli). The mix did not work, may be
because all came from other clubs – it was just a big colection of
names, not really a carefully made team. Perhaps hiring Vasovic was a
mistake – a great name, but as a player. As a coach -not much
experience, to say the least. Money were no problem, but money is not
everything – Paris SG 31 players this season : astonishing
number in the 1970s and thus only a testimony that team was not
working. They finished 13th.

One
of the not-working versions of Paris SG this season. May be expecting
too much too soon, but just buying names was not the solution. So far
Paris SG achieved absolutely nothing, but persisted in the wrong
approach – some names were gone after the season ended, only to be
replaced by other names. And so on and on.

Things
worked for clubs with different approach : Monaco and Metz had
strong year. Both teams were far behind the title contenders, but
still well above the rest of the league. Both finished with 44 points
– 4 points ahead of 6th
placed Lille, but 10 points behind St. Etienne and Nantes. The two Ms
were similar and different at the same time : both depended on
attack and had weak defences. Both played 'all or nothing' and did
not care much for ties. But Monaco was rising and building a strong
team, whereas Metz only had a good season and clearly was not going
to stay permanently among the best. FC Metz were typical mid-table
club, occasionally in danger of relegation, but most often found
somewhere safely in the middle of the league. Never a favorite and
not in a position of becoming one – a modest club. But they played
well this season and finished 5th
only because of worse goal-difference.

What
worked for Metz was a core of strong players – Andre Rey (b. 1948),
Patrick Batiston (b. 1957), Christian Synaeghel (b. 1951), Henryk
Kasperczak (Poland, b. 1946), and Wim Suurbier (Holland, b. 1946).
The club was especially lucky with the foreigners – both had strong
winner mentality. This group of players propelled Metz to the top.
Unfortunately, the key players were dangeroulsy aging and were not
enough as a group to keep the club on upward course. Also unfortunate
was the predicament of the club – a modest club had no chances of
keeping young stars for long. It was clear that sooner than later
Suurbier, Kasperczak, and Rey will retire and Batiston will go to
bigger club. Metz were one-year wonder.

Not
so Monaco – their notorious ups and downs made the club
unpredicatble, but at the moment it was going up with a good chance
of getting better. Finishing 4th
was promising better days in the future.

Like
Metz, Monaco largely depended on a limited group of players :
Dalger, Onnis, Emon, Nogues, Ettori and Petit. Unlike Metz, Monaco
was not in danger of losing its stars – they had the money to keep
them on one hand. This was important largely about the top Argentine
striker Delio Onnis. On the other the stars were different than the
top players of Metz. Dalger, Emon, and Petit still had at least 2-3
years to play, but in the same time they were no longer considered
players at their prime and were not very interesting to other clubs.
The second foreigner – actually, a dual citizen of France and
Argentina – Nogues was not even considered a star. Ettori was also
safe posession – a promising goalkeeper, but since others were
still the top keepers in France, nobody was after him. Unlike Metz,
Monaco had a core of players for the next few years and with some
additions the team could be getting only stronger. And additions were
badly needed, for Monaco was strong in attack (Onnis, Dalger, Emon,
and Nogues), barely decent in midfield (thanks to Jean Petit), had
improving goalkeeper (Ettori), but was terrible in defense. It
clearly showed during this season – Monaco finished with 70:51
goal-difference : second highest scoring team in the league, but
hoping to outscore their opponents was big risk.

Perhaps
the key to this season was the state of most French clubs – some in
decline, others good only for one year, few promissing, but still not
ready and fully made. Fate depended on few good players, not on solid
squad. And that perhaps determined the race for the title :
three clubs competed. Two were more than familiar – St. Eitenne and
FC Nantes defined French club football in the 1970s. Both were
getting old and tired, however. The third was a club playing in the
second division very recently, but, by itself, sudden soaring of a
team was not surprising : ups and downs were perhaps more common
in France than any other country. The race was tight and was won by
seemingly the most conservative team of the trio – the one, which
scored least, but minded their own net. The one,which did not rush to
win matches, but carefully collected points from ties. St. Etienne
won most matches this season – 24. They also scored a lot – 77
goals. But they lost 8 matches and at the end had 54 points. Far
ahead of the 4th
placed team – 10 points ahead – and tied with FC Nantes. Nantes
scored much more goals than St. Etienne, leaving them with bronze
medals. Warning signs were detected since 1975 – St. Etienne was
strong, had deep squad, new players popped in, but esentially it was
the same team for many years. As a team they reached their peak
between 1974 and 1976, and were getting old as a whole. Small changes
were not the solution – and the signal was clear this year :
they were able to stay amnog the best, but now even a pedestrian team
was able to oppose them. And bump them aside. There was need of new
leaders able to shake and revitalize the team. The club and the coach
Robert Herbin got the message : Michel Platini and Johnny Rep
were bought after the season ended.

FC
Nantes was similar, but a step ahead of St. Etienne : they also
felt decline coming with the aging of the squad and started
rebuilding around 1976. Like St. Etienne so far, it was not radical
change, but gradual. By now few of the squad of the early 1970s were
around, but the new team was not fully matured yet : it still
depended on Henry Michel (b. 1947) and Hugo Bargas (b. 1946). The
veterans were at the end of their playing days, but the new squad was
almost ready – almost, but not ripe yet. A team competing for the
title, but not able to win it.

Not
bad at all : seven former, current, and future French national
team players, two sturdy, experienced, but still young professionals
(Pecout and Rampillon), two new talented Argentinians - midfielder
Oscar Muller (b. 1957) and striker Oscar Trossero (b.1953). Their
compatriot Bargas was moved to the bench, where more talent was
waiting – Michel Bibard (b. 1958), Bruno Baronchelli (b. 1957), Guy
Lacombe (b. 1955). Silver medals this year, but it was a team ready
for the future.

The
present was not theirs, though. The present belonged to those able to
get advantage from the shaky season and problems of the favorites.
Small problems, but they made the favorites not better than a team
playing bravely. And the surprise happened : Racing Club
Strasbourg finished 2 points ahead of St. Etienne and Nantes.
Unlikely team... so far, RC Strasbourg had little success. They won
the Cup twice – in 1951 and 1966. Never the title and normally were
not among potential champions. Two years ago they were in second
division. And compared to the favorites, their squad was pitiful.
Perhaps they underestimated by the others – it looked very unlikely
such a team would stay among the best for long. Perhaps a good run
for awhile, but inevitably the lack of strong sqaud would bring them
down. But Strasbourg stayed on top, earned point after point, until
the season ended with them on top. 22 wins, 12 ties, 4 losses, 68:28
goal-difference, 56 points. Two more than their famous competition.

Brand
new champion is always great. Especially a club never winning title
before. Particulary a club playing in the lower league just
yesterday. But... it was not a spectacular team. It was rather made
of experienced second-raters. Some of the players were acquared
recently – Raymond Domenech (b. 1952) in 1977, along with two
players from Paris SG – Francis Piasecki (b. 1951) and Jacky Novi
(b. 1946). In 1978 a former teammate of Novi arrived from OGC Nice –
Roger Jouve (b. 1949). The other newcomer was also born in 1949, but
hardly ever played top league football – one Arsene Wenger was
acquired from the other – and very lowly – club from Strasbourg :
Pierrots Vauban. A single foreign player taken from Bordeaux –
Tokomon Nambatingue (b. 1952), originally from Chad. The new arrivals
did not look even a match for those who departed – Ivica Osim
retired and Heinz Schilcher went back to his native Austria to play
for Sturm (Graz). Strasbourg had a few more good players – Dominque
Dropsy (b. 1951), Leonard Specht (b.1954), and Albert Gemmrich (b.
1955), but as a whole – not a single leading player on national
scale. This was not a team coming even close to the squads Nantes and
St. Etienne had, but a squad generally for the lower half of the
table, unless getting brief inspiration and finishing somewhere
between 5th
and 10th
place. However, another man arrived in the summer of 1978 – the
greatest star Strasbourg ever had and one of the best French
footballers of the 1960s.

Gilbert
Gress was one of the few French players to play abroad back in the
1960s and early 1970s, playing for years in West Germany. When he
retired, he went to coaching job in Switzerland, taking the reigns of
Xamax. Over there he took also Swiss citizenship and coached well –
Strasbourg took him back and he made them champions. He was young and
not very experienced, but perhaps that was really his advantage –
Herbin was coaching St. Etienne for almost 10 years already. Nantes
had a coach from different era – Jean Vincent. Gress was fresh and
up to date in football matters. He inspired the team and apparently
made the best of the players at hand – none was individually great,
but all were competent. Strasbourg was not outstanding team. They
were no revelation. They largely took advantage of shaky opponents,
making mistakes here and there. A great victory, but clearly it was
not a team to stay on top. It was a middle-of-the-road team, a
surprise victors, and nothing else. And - so far – this season
stands alone as the greatest ever for the club : Strasbourg did
not win another title. One time wonder. But it was nice to see them
win for a change and what a lesson it was for a club like Paris SG –
buying stars one after another, and yet unable to get even a medal.
The pedestrian Strasbourg meantime won the championship.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Monday, November 17, 2014

Surprising
winners of promotion, surprising champion... the Cup should have
balanced that. FC Brugge reached the final. The other finalists were
Beerschot (Antwerpen). Technically, the smaller club of the city in
the 1970s – Royal Antwerpen was the 'big' club and it was not
really much. The Bears were regular member of first division, but
mid-table club at best – their glorious days were in the ancient
past, when they won 7 titles. All that ended in 1939... after that –
once they won the Cup: in 1971. FC Brugge was the obvious favorite:
much stronger team and also they had to compensate for the weak
championship performance. Beerschot did not stand a chance.

This
season FC Brugge was arguably the most Belgian club in the league –
Walter Meeuws (from Beerschot), Jan Ceulemans (from Lierse), and
Peter Houtman (from Feyenoord Rotterdam) were the newcomers. The
English striker Ray Clarke arrived from Ajax (Amsterdam) later.
Meantime Eddie Krieger, the aging Austrian defender went to play in
Holland. It was the squad built by Happel, which was aging a bit as a
team and most importantly Happel was no longer around – he came
back from coaching Holland at the World Cup and soon was fired.
Andres Beres was the new coach – one of many Hungarians, including
football players, who left their country in 1956. Beres played
professionally in Belgium and Holland and later became a coach in
Belgium. Good one too, judging by his stint with Anderlecht in the
second half of the 1960s. But the 1960s were gone... Beres had good
reputation, but he may have been out of date – FC Brugge suddenly
underperfomed and by the date of the Cup final Beres was gone –
temporarily, the assistant coach Matthien Bollen was at the helm.
However, there were no changes in the team and there was no way to
make any until the end of the season and the opening of the transfer
period. Still, FC Brugge was far better team than their opponents –
on paper.

On
the pitch the Bears not only kept their ground, but scored a goal. FC
Brugge was unable to equalize. Beerschot won 1-0. The Cup was theirs
for second time. Complete triumph of the small clubs this year –
the championship, the cup, one of the promotions: the big boys got
nothing. Surprising winners characterized the season.

Beerschot
left little evidence of their great year – the club had financial
troubles, which lead to more than decline. The club practically
folded by the end of the 1980s and like many other Belgian clubs went
through various mergers and transformations, which according to
registration rules were starting a new club. Thus, almost nothing
remain from the winners – not even a team picture. A pity, for it
was an interesting vintage. Georg Knobel was coaching them – the
Dutch coach, who 'destroyed' the mighty Ajax in 1974-75 and then
coached Holland at the 1976 European championship finals. Since his
spell with the national team was not a success either, it was not
surprising to find Knobel in Beerschot... There was no great
performance in the league – the club finished 12th,
their usual mid-table place – but they excelled in the Cup
tournament. Most players were ordinary and not familiar to anyone
outside Belgium. The club had no money for big transfers – the best
they were able to do was acquiring the Polish goalkeeper Jan
Tomaszewski after the 1978 World Cup. He joined a group of
interesting players – the Haitian striker Emmanuel Sannon was a
minor sensation at the 1974 World Cup: he scored against Italy,
braking the clean sheet record of Dino Zoff, already running over
1200 minutes. Italy had hard time overcoming Haiti, and Sannon was
hailed as the hero of the match. But it was in the early rounds of
the finals and bigger sensations trumped his – Poland, for
instance, with Tomaszewski between the goal-posts. Sannon was unable
to score against him – now the opponents of 1974 were teammates.

Sannon
had his minute of fame and was forgotten right after that – but his
moment was important: Beerschot offered him a contract and he joined
the club in 1974. And there he stayed – adaptation was difficult at
first, but Sannon was young and determined. By 1978 he was key
player, called 'Manno' by the fans.

Sannon
dropped out from spotlight quickly, but Tomaszewski was talked about
for years. However, he was slowly declining – he lost his place in
the Polish national team during he 1978 World Cup finals and at 30 he
appeared to be going down. But veteran Polish players were permitted
to go professional and he got contract with Beerschot.

Perhaps
not the club of his dreams, but after his World Cup fiasco not so
bad. 'Tomek' was the most famous player of his new club and he played
well.

The
third relatively known name was Gerrit 'Gerrie' Kleton. The 25-years
old Dutchman was part of the great Ajax. He almost never played, but
was known largely from team pictures – sitting next to Cruyff and
the rest of the big stars. Kleton moved to other clubs after 1974,
but was unable to establish himself anywhere. Hardly a starter even
in small clubs, he moved from place to place to the end of his
career. May be Knobel brought him to Beerschot, where he seemingly
failed again and did last the whole season, moving back to Holland.

Kleton
scores against Belgian team – KAA Gent – but in 1982 and not as a
Beerschot player. His dark shirt is Haarlem's – he moved to his
homeland during 1978-79 season and arguably had his most successful
years with the small Dutch club.

A
pair of defenders also had minor fame: Arto Tolsa from Finland,
already 33 years old, who played 10 years for Beerschot. He also
played 77 games, scoring 9 goals for the national team of Finland
between 1964 and 1981 – astonishing record at the time. A legend in
Finland may be – a stadium is named after him – and certainly of
Beerschot.

Arto
Tolsa – little known player with loyal heart and great
international record.

His
partner was naturalized Congolese – Paul Beloy Beloy.

Still
very young this season – only 22 – he quickly became respected
player in Belgium, but not a great star. Because his name is
confusingly doubled, he is often written just Paul Beloy.

The
inevitable Dutch at the left wing: Rene Mucher.

One
of the many Dutch players in Belgium, not famous at all, but
seemingly useful for Beerschot.

The
last and perhaps the most important player was young, but already
playing for the club since 1974 – debuting along with Sannon. In
1978-79 he was only 23 years old, considered still a promise of
foreign origin – so far, listed as Spaniard.

Juan
Lozano was one of the greatest Belgian players of the 1980s,
nicknamed the King, but his complicated dual citizenship left him out
of national team football – he played a single match for Spain.
Which prevented any attempts for inclusion in the Belgian selections.
Already a regular, he won his first trophy this year – which was
also his last season with Beerschot: he moved to USA the next season.
His real fame was yet to come – for the moment, only a cup winner
with a funny jersey: apparently, Beerschot advertised some firm
dealing with eyeglasses.

About Me

I am Vesselin Vesselinov, born in Bulgaria and living in Canada. Football is my hobby since childhood – not the most important part of my life, but lifelong addiction nevertheless. Playing, watching, talking and collecting football. Now I am sharing my addiction with you. Hope you enjoy it.